Buon 2023! 🎉 Wishing you all health, peace, and dreams coming true in the new year. ❤️

When Your Husband Takes Over the Kitchen

Let me set the scene: there’s a mountain of dishes piling up in the sink (and yes, I definitely had opinions about who was going to wash them), but what Pasquale brought out of that kitchen? Absolutely deserving of a standing ovation. I’m still recovering.

The whole cooking process was like riding an emotional rollercoaster powered by those Nick Young question mark memes mixed with Chris Pratt’s “WOW” face. I went from panicked to amazed to utterly confused—sometimes all within five minutes.

The Paella Rescue Mission

First up: the paella. At one point, the bottom of the pan looked so burnt and catastrophic that I genuinely couldn’t tell what was supposed to happen next. (Nick Young question mark energy.) Then squid, shrimp, tiny shrimp, clams, and mussels started going in one by one. Pasquale moved like he’d been making this forever—no hesitation, just pure confidence.

Then he turned to me with a question that sent me into a mild panic: “Three cups of rice—won’t that be too little?”

Three cups? In a pan that size? I literally had to walk away and check if we could still order KFC. 😅

But when he pulled that lid off, out came this spectacular, colorful, ridiculously gorgeous mountain of seafood paella that made me question everything I thought I understood about cooking. HOLY MOLY—how did you do that?

The Calamari That Defied Logic

Then came the calamari ripieni, and this is where things got really weird.

I fully expected him to go traditional Neapolitan: breadcrumbs, olives, capers, raisins—the whole beautiful lineup. Instead, he cracked four eggs into a bowl, tore up bread into thumb-sized chunks, threw both into a pan with the squid tentacles, and… just scrambled it all together into this chaotic, concerning-looking mixture.

I did not have faith. I literally whispered a little prayer that the calamari would forgive me. (Second KFC check: still open.)

Then he stuffed them, nestled them into a pan with cherry tomatoes, and when I lifted that lid? I was absolutely blinded by the glory. The calamari had been reborn. Perfectly cooked, gorgeously golden, shaped like the traditional red pepper—the symbol of good luck in Naples.

The Verdict

I cannot explain the technique. I cannot rationalize how scrambled eggs and bread became something so delicious. But I absolutely cannot deny that this Neapolitan chef—my Neapolitan chef—has serious skills. 😆🙌

Sometimes the best meals come from a little chaos, a lot of confidence, and someone who knows exactly what they’re doing even when you’re convinced they’ve lost their mind.